millevsmullWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: mille is a noun, mull is a verb, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“mille” is a noun and “mull” is a verb - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,096
“mille” frequency rank
#31,263
“mull” frequency rank
68359
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature mille mull
Definition Alternative spelling of mill. To work (over) mentally; to cogitate; to ruminate.

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set mille and mull apart are highlighted. They share 3 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

5 ch
mille
4 ch
mull

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

Our dataset has no pronunciation recorded for both members, so the reliable separator here is grammatical: mille is anoun and mullaverb. On the page they differ by 1 letter(s) in length. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 68359, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

mille is recorded at frequency rank #37,096, classified as anoun. mull is at rank #31,263, tagged as averb, pronounced /mʌl/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 68359, this pair ranks #59,211 of 530,003 scored English confusable pairs - among the most confusable pairs.

Orthographic DNA of mille vs mull

Shared letters: lm. Private to "mille": ei. Private to "mull": u.

"mille" · 5 letters · shape CVCCV  ·  "mull" · 4 letters · shape CVCC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • milleimlle · milel · mlile · mmille
  • mullmlul · mmull · mul · umll

Frequency comparison

mille#37,096
mull#31,263

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "mille" and "mull" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "mille" is a noun and "mull" a verb, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "mille" or "mull"?
"mull" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #31,263 in our English list, against #37,096 for "mille". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Remembering mille vs mull

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a noun, it's “mille”; for a verb, it's “mull”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “mille” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list